Boot Hill Museum

Last updated March 30, 2019

Boot Hill Museum is an American historical museum located in Dodge City, Kansas.^[1]

Kansas is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka and its largest city is Wichita, with its most populated county being Johnson County. Kansas is bordered by Nebraska on the north; Missouri on the east; Oklahoma on the south; and Colorado on the west. Kansas is named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the (south) wind" although this was probably not the term's original meaning. For thousands of years, what is now Kansas was home to numerous and diverse Native American tribes. Tribes in the eastern part of the state generally lived in villages along the river valleys. Tribes in the western part of the state were semi-nomadic and hunted large herds of bison.

A non-profit entity, the mission of the museum is to preserve the history of the Old West with emphasis on Dodge City. There are over 20,000 artifacts in the complex, including more than 200 original guns. In addition to its historical and educational focus, the museum also provides entertainment for visitors in the form of simulated gunfights and saloon shows.

The Kansas Cowboy Hall of Fame is housed in the museum complex.

The Kansas Cowboy Hall of Fame, is located at the Boot Hill Museum in Dodge City, Kansas. The first inductees were selected in 2002.

Origin of the name

The museum is named after the Boot Hill Cemetery, which sits on the northeast corner of the museum complex. "Boot Hill" was a common name for cemeteries used to bury gunslingers in the American West. The term refers to the fact that these men had "died with their boots on" – in other words, in a violent manner, whether in a gunfight or perhaps even by hanging.

Boot Hill, or Boothill, is the name for any number of cemeteries, chiefly in the American West. During the 19th century it was a common name for the burial grounds of gunfighters, or those who "died with their boots on".

To "Die with your boots on" is an idiom referring to dying while fighting or to die while actively occupied/employed/working or in the middle of some action. A person who dies with their boots on keeps working to the end, as in "He’ll never quit—he’ll die with his boots on." The implication here is that they die while living their life as usual, and not of old age and being bedridden with illness, infirmity, etc.

Incidents

On July 6, 1992, the "dry goods store" portion of the museum caught fire.^[2] It has since been rebuilt.

In July 2010, a local resident was badly burned by a flash fire during a Bull Fry and Bash event at the museum. Following this accident, new fryers were purchased as a safety measure.^[3]

Role in Heritage District plans

Dodge City has embarked on a plan to develop a Heritage District, of which expanding the Boot Hill Museum will be a particular focus. The expansion of the museum would highlight the old heritage of the town, but the Heritage District will also include a water park, additional hotels, new restaurants, and an RV park.^[4]

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The Long Branch Saloon was a well-known saloon in Dodge City, Kansas from about 1874 to 1885. It had numerous owners, most notably Chalk Beeson and gunfighter Luke Short. The establishment provided gambling and live entertainment, including Beeson's five-person orchestra. It was the scene of several altercations, shoot-outs, gunfights, and standoffs often associated with cattle towns in the American wild west, the most famous of which was the 1879 Long Branch Saloon Gunfight, in which Frank Loving killed Levi Richardson.

Boot Hill is the name for a number of cemeteries, chiefly in the American West.

Chalkley McArtor "Chalk" Beeson was a well-known businessman, lawman, cattleman and musician but was best known for his ownership of the famous Long Branch Saloon in Dodge City, Kansas.

The Long Branch Variety Show is a western saloon show presented in the Long Branch Saloon located at Boot Hill Museum, a non-profit entertainment and museum theme park, in Dodge City, Kansas.

The O.K. Corral was a livery and horse corral from 1879 to about 1888 in the mining boomtown of Tombstone, Arizona Territory, in the southwestern United States near the border with Mexico.

Boothill Graveyard is a small graveyard of at least 250 interments located in Tombstone, Cochise County, Arizona. Also known as the "Old City Cemetery", the graveyard was used after 1883 only to bury outlaws and a few others. It had a separate Jewish cemetery, which is nearby.

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References

↑ Boot Hill Museum website
↑ Boot Hill Museum Fire http://www.dodgecity.org/index.aspx?NID=421
↑ 'The Face of Dodge City' shares stories of injury, recovery http://www.dodgeglobe.com/article/20110728/NEWS/307289994
↑ Dodge City planning to add a Heritage District, by Lindsay Cobb, for KSN News, 26 September 2014; Accessed: 28 September 2014.

External links

Boot Hill Museum – official site

Coordinates: 37°45′13″N100°01′20″W / 37.7536°N 100.0223°W / 37.7536; -100.0223

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[1] Boot Hill Museum website

[2] Boot Hill Museum Fire http://www.dodgecity.org/index.aspx?NID=421

[3] 'The Face of Dodge City' shares stories of injury, recovery http://www.dodgeglobe.com/article/20110728/NEWS/307289994

[4] Dodge City planning to add a Heritage District, by Lindsay Cobb, for KSN News, 26 September 2014; Accessed: 28 September 2014.